Comments on: Electric Guitar Electronics Shielding

By: klanreps

klanreps — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:42:14 +0000

that’s exactly what …
that’s exactly what sheilding prevents from..i think …and to think about many and i mean MANY expensive electric guitars don’t have not even a small clue of proper sheilding….

By: ymmashus94

ymmashus94 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:42:14 +0000

what does shielding …
what does shielding do? my guitar makes alot of buzz and makes a spark sound when i touch the string or any other metal part on the guitar

By: 100roberthenry

100roberthenry — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:42:14 +0000

hi .i have been …
hi .i have been building guitar fx..and am not sure about the shielding on the input part….can/do i use guitar type cable and just use the inner core to the input..or do i have to use the outer core to the ground on cirduit board or something…cheers..

By: straus001

straus001 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:42:14 +0000

get a noise gate!!! …
get a noise gate!!!!!

By: dongpedroyi

dongpedroyi — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:42:14 +0000

Having a few gaps …
Having a few gaps is not a problem. Having the pots and switch in contact with the copper foil does not mean they are grounded. You have to confirm with a multimeter whether each earth pin does conduct through the copper foil. If not, you’ll have to solder a short piece of wire from each earth pin directly to the copper foil – also ensure that the earth lead of the output jack is also conducting through the copper.

By: Lavabug

Lavabug — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:42:14 +0000

Thanks for the tip! …
Thanks for the tip! The switch and pots already seem to touch the copper foil because they are mounted in the guitar(no pickguard), is that sufficient contact?

Btw does it matter if the shielding doesn’t fill every square inch of the cavity? I ran out of tape and there are a few tiny spaces without it, it won’t have an adverse effect will it?

By: dongpedroyi

dongpedroyi — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:42:14 +0000

Make sure you …
Make sure you mention that earthing of the copper surface is essential otherwise you get the opposite effect. Also as important is to avoid ground loops – any redundant wire connection to earth is a source of persisting noise even when everything seems properly earthed.

By: dongpedroyi

dongpedroyi — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:42:14 +0000

Lavabug: Make sure …
Lavabug: Make sure the earth lead (the outer mesh of the output cable) is in good contact with the back of the pot and the pot should be in contact with the copper foil. Any other point that needs grounding (switch, bridge, even pickups) should be soldered straight to the copper foil (shortest path to ground) – make sure there are no redundant wires going to ground otherwise they create the effect known as “ground loop” (parallel paths to ground) and it is also a cause of persisting noise.

By: Lavabug

Lavabug — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:42:14 +0000

Holy crap no wonder …
Holy crap no wonder my guitar is noisier, thanks for that info. What ground should I connect the shielding to? The one on my pots, bridge, switch? I thought my copper tape was already grounded since it’s making contact with my pots and switch, guess that’s not enough?

By: dongpedroyi

dongpedroyi — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:42:14 +0000

ziajek00 – not …
ziajek00 – not necessarily. I think he did a good job. I thought that shielding the coils would be beneficial but because the conductive surface is too close to the coils it brings the antenna effect even if it’s earthed. There has to be some distance between the shielding surface and the pickups in order to reproduce the Tesla cage effect.